Port receives ARRA money for West Vancouver Freight Access

VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Port of Vancouver USA has been awarded $2.5 million of federal stimulus funding for construction of its West Vancouver Freight Access rail project.

The funding is from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) put together by Congress and the Obama Administration to stimulate the economy and create jobs in the United States.

At the Port of Vancouver, the $137 million West Vancouver Freight Access project is creating jobs for the Vancouver, Clark County and Greater Southwest Washington community. As many as 1,900 construction, design, engineering and other related jobs are being created due to the project.

The project will allow for unit train access into the port as early as spring 2010, which will result ultimately in the reduction of as much as 40 percent of the congestion in the BNSF Vancouver Yard and along the north-south BNSF main line, which serves rail customers as far away as Houston and Chicago. Congestion at the Vancouver Yard can delay rail traffic on this vital north-south, east-west mainline.

The ARRA funding will be used to help construct unit train facility on the port’s new Terminal 5 (formerly the Alcoa Aluminum smelter) is due to begin in late summer 2009.

About the Port of Vancouver USA

The Port of Vancouver USA, created by Clark County taxpayers in 1912, is one of the major ports on the Pacific Coast. Its competitive strengths include available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a dependable labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community.

The Port of Vancouver is embarking on a year full of projects and developments that will lead to vital job creation, economic stimulation and environmental preservation. By diversifying its cargo mix between bulk commodities, breakbulk and project cargos, the port is responsible for job generation and significant contributions to the tax base for not only its own community, but also the state of Washington. Current expansion of the port’s rail system and development of new port industrial and marine properties will bring new jobs – both short term and long term – and the preservation of wetlands, the creation of enhanced wildlife habitat, and make way for more green/sustainable business partners operating from the port. For more information, please visit us at www.portvanusa.com.

– POV –

At A Glance

Who: Port of Vancouver USA
What: Receives recovery money for rail project
When: March 12, 2009
Quick Facts: The Port of Vancouver’s West Vancouver Freight Access rail project is creating as many as 1,900 jobs … The project’s estimated cost is $137 million … The project will allow for the reduction of as much as 40 percent of the congestion along the BNSF mainlines.